Short Takes

Compiled by Katherine Duke '05

Andean ExpressBy Juan de Recacoechea, translated by Adrian Althoff ’04 (Akashic Books)This dark novel, by a one-time winner of Bolivia’s National Book Prize, follows a cast of suspicious characters on an overnight train from La Paz to the coast of Chile.

Boys at Play: Poetic Wit and Whimsy By N.D. Austin ’07, Joshua H. Cohen ’99, Artie Moffa ’00 and Wing L. Mui ’05 (Bicycle Comics Productions)Four alumni collaborated on this volume of poetry, song lyrics and comics. For every book sold, they plan to donate $1 to Amherst in support of the open curriculum and financial aid policies.

The Isle of YooBy David R Wellens ’90 (Athena Press)Wellens’ second book of verse includes a poem titled “Back to Amherst College.”

Knit It Together: Patterns and Inspiration for Knitting Circles Edited by Suzyn Jackson ’96 (Voyageur Press)In addition to row-by-row instructions for making blankets, hats, pillows and more, this guide includes stories about the history and recent resurgence of knitting circles and tips on starting one’s own circle with friends.

More Stories of Inspiration: 51 Uplifting Tales of Courage, Humor, Healing, and Learning in Student Affairs Edited by Sarah M. Marshall, with a story by Jennifer Duffy ’00 (NASPA)This collection of stories, conversations and poems about working with students includes Duffy's tribute to Katie Fretwell ’81, Amherst’s director of admission and senior associate dean of admission.

Resonance Media DVDs produced by Keith Rollinson ’76 Resonance Media has produced five DVDs, intended for use by scholars of ethnomusicology and related fields, that present and explain various traditional Javanese performances.

The Selected Letters of Thornton Wilder Edited by Robin G. Wilder and Jackson R. Bryer ’59 (HarperCollins)This collection comprises more than 300 letters, giving an unprecedented glimpse into the life of the acclaimed novelist and playwright and into his relationships with such luminaries as Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Stein, Coward and Albee.

Sgt. Pepper and the Beatles: It Was Forty Years Ago Today Edited by Olivier Julien, with a chapter by David Reck, professor emeritus of music and Asian languages and civilizations (Ashgate Publishing) To this analysis of the 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Reck contributes a chapter on “The Beatles and Indian music.”

The Tainted Muse: Prejudice and Presumption in Shakespeare and His Time By Robert Brustein ’47 (Yale University Press) Brustein investigates what Shakespeare’s plays reveal about how the playwright and his contemporaries viewed women, men, blacks, Jews, monarchy, democracy and metaphysical matters.

Tetraktys By Ari Juels ’91 (Emerald Bay Books) Juels, currently chief scientist at RSA Laboratories, has used his expertise in computer security to craft this fictional tale of a cryptographer who must investigate a deadly and far-reaching security breach by a mysterious cult.

The Undiscovered Dewey: Religion, Morality, and the Ethos of Democracy By Melvin L. Rogers ’99 (Columbia University Press)Rogers reinterprets the image and work of American pragmatist philosopher John Dewey, connecting Dewey’s theory of inquiry to his ideas about morality, religion and politics.

A Very Rich Man By Dixon Long ’55 (BookSurge)In this novel, two adult children of a wealthy Ohio clan come home and find themselves re-entangled in their family’s dysfunction and secrets.